In a recent blog entry, I mentioned writing a thank you email to my primary care physician. That evening when our son Jeremy called, he told me that he had enjoyed that entry and added that he had recently sent a thank you card to his own doctor.

Jeremy outdid me—he took the time to buy a card, put a stamp on it and take it to the mailbox. I like to think that he was brought up to do the right thing and now he does it better than I do. That got me to thinking about all the ways that our kids are better than we are.

I'm a decent writer and have published many travel articles over the years, just because I like to write. But Seth is a great writer and he actually makes a living as a journalist who writes a lot about travel. And honestly, I thought we were good parents. But both Peter and I think Jeremy and his wife Katrina are better at parenting than we were.